MEMORIAL

'Memorial' , Russian Circle's, latest 2013, probably was named as such, because it will bring back the memory of the 80's Heavy Metal sound, the kind like Judas Priest or Def Leppard or any of those bands. That style became such a cliche, that it was almost impossible, to tell one band from the other. That for me, is quiet a downer. I never learned to appreciate, that limited and common ground of songwriting (I'm not talking about performances or instrumental skills), these Metal dudes offered.

In my taste, they were quiet boring and anonymous, even with the oversized fireworks, "solos" and screams. So to be thrown back, in a couple of this record's songs to that period is no big thrill for me!...

Good thing, this happens only in two songs, and its so blatant, that it seems all like a joke, or, an up-front repetition of their favorite "riffs" of that decade. But as mentioned, it is all saved for good, by the rest of the songs, that are by far, more original and more interesting in the Russian Circle's proper language, which, has to be mentioned, when they are good, they are really good, in all aspects of musical composition, performance and a sometimes forgotten, but developing, originality.

Now, if you dig those Metal years, this album will be an easy 4 PA stars. I, who dislike these "roots" or "tributes", will rate it ***3 PA stars , and "I will butcher these two songs off and have a very good, very listenable and enjoyable, 2013, Russian Circles album", .

IMPORTANT,-except for the last song, this is a vocal-less album.

3.5/5

2013 was a good year for post-rock, at least for me: Although relatively new to the genre (and its relations), Russian Circles was one of the first bands whose output I explored, and I was very happy (along with lots of other people) that the iconic post-rock outfit was releasing a new album.

Memorial does live up to the anticipation. These three guys can churn out wonderfully heavy, complex sounds, and this album does not disappoint. Most of the tracks are satisfyingly kick-ass, chord-driven, melodic, held together by great, intricate drumming. The heavy middle tracks are anchored on both ends by slower, almost acoustic tracks: "Memorial" at the beginning and "Memoriam" at the end, which revisits it but with wispy female vocals deep in the mix for an ethereal wind-up. I have to say it was a bonus to be able to see them produce these sounds live.

I tend to prefer the heavy end of post-rock to the ambient end, and although Russian Circles generally fits nicely there, I found Memorial to have a rather somber, more contemplative feel which makes it just a shade less compelling than I otherwise would have liked. The album manages to avoid the rather too-common sin of being a bit too long or including a track or two that may have been better left off, but the general dark feel drags it down.

This is a tough album to review for me. I've been a fan of Russian Circles for quite some time now and even though I've had issues with some of the band's material in the past it was mostly minor complains in comparison to my reactions to Memorial.

After the release of the marvelous Empros, I was ectatic on hearing more from the direction that the band were heading for. Will they continue in their instrumental style or will they add vocals to some of their songs, just like they did on Praise Be Man? Will the band return to the more aggressive style that was heard on early albums, Enter and Station, or will we hear even more material resembling traditional post rock style? Will the new album be able to top the achievements of Empros?

Memorial starts with a short prelude as we are transition to the album's two longer pieces - Deficit and 1777 . The transition from Memoriam to Deficit feels very abrupt, which is quite unusual for a band that is known for fluent and transcendent instrumental pieces. Deficit is a heavy track that fits quite well with the album cover which depicts a harsh but beautiful landscape shot. Some sections of the track brings the band back to the early achievements on Station but I lack the overall coherence from the beginning to the end of the track. 1777 feels a lot more structured but it lacks the memorable punch that I require of my Russian Circle experience. The overall sound is a lot more dreamy and less catchy than what I've come to expect from the trio, still in no way a bad piece of music.

The rest of the album consists of tracks that are between 4-5 minutes long and, starting with Cheyenne, I immediately began to see the general problem with Memorial as an album. The record lacks the feel of consistency and most of the music featured on the second half of the album feels more like experimental ideas rather than full-fledged compositions. I've been trying to enjoy this record ever since it was released in 2013 and I've really been struggling with it. The material that is presented here isn't bad but I lack the distinct Russian Circles flavor that the band are usually able to bring to the table. Even the collaboration with Chelsea Wolfe on the album's title track feels out of place with the rest of the record and would have worked better as a stand alone single.

Even though this record has been somewhat of a disappointment for me, I'm still very interested in hearing what Russian Circles will deliver on their next record. Hopefully they'll take one step back in order to leap two steps forwards, hence return to the format that was featured on Empros and improve upon it.

**** star songs: Memoriam (1:28) Deficit (6:42) 1777 (7:21) Burial (4:43) Ethel (4:03) Lebaron (4:36)

*** star songs: Cheyenne (4:24) Memorial (3:45)